This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

To effectively administer a network you need both an understanding of the
operating system and the ability to troubleshoot it. Troubleshooting relies
on your knowledge of how the operating system functions. In addition to knowledge,
IT professionals must understand the tools at their disposal. These topics
are addressed in the labs in this section.

The following is a list of the exam objectives covered in this chapter:

Domain 1 Operating System Fundamentals

1.5 Identify the major operating system utilities, their purpose, location,
and available switches.

Domain 3 Diagnosing and Troubleshooting

3.2 Recognize when to use common diagnostic utilities and tools. Given
a diagnostic scenario involving one of these utilities or tools, select
the appropriate steps needed to resolve the problem.

Windows 98 and Me Troubleshooting Tools

Windows 98 and Windows Millennium are equipped with a powerful set of tools
to assist users with various troubleshooting tasks.

Resources

Procedure

In this section, you will start up a Windows Millennium Edition computer.
You will view the hardware setup and components of the operating system. This
will familiarize you with Windows Me and aid you in your troubleshooting.

Boot the computer to Windows Me.

Turn on the computer and select Windows Me from the OS selection menu.

Tour the Windows Millennium Help and Support Information tool.

Navigate to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then select
System Information to open the MS Help and Support window.

In Table 3.1, list the subtopics
underneath System Summary from the left window pane.

Viewing the Tools That Are Available in the Tools Menu

You can use System Restore to undo harmful changes to your computer and restore
its settings and performance. System Restore returns your computer to an earlier
time (called a restore point) without causing you to lose recent work, such
as saved documents, email, or history and favorites lists.

Your computer automatically creates restore points (called system checkpoints),
but you can also use System Restore to create your own checkpoints. This is
useful if you are about to make a major change to your system, such as installing
a new program or changing your Registry. The following procedure will help
you set up restore points.

Use System Restore to create a restore point for your computer.

In the menu bar click the Tools menu and select System Restore.

Click the radio button next to Create a Restore Point and click Next
to continue.

In the System Restore window (see Figure
3.1), give your restore point a descriptive name. I recommend using
the date in the name. Type today's date with the word Restore at
the end of the name (example: 12-01-01Restore).

What Did I Just Learn?

In this section, you learned how to use Windows Me or 98 system tools to gather
information and resolve system problems. When troubleshooting, it is important
to gather information so that you can make informed decisions when attempting
to find the problem's root cause. Some of the specific skills you practiced
include the following: